Over Labor Day weekend, the Trump campaign and several Gold Star families strongly defended Trump against Vice President Kamala Harris after she claimed Trump “disrespected sacred ground” at Arlington National Cemetery.
Darren Hoover, the father of Marine Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, accused Harris of lacking empathy and caring only about power, not the military or the people. Taylor was one of the thirteen service members killed during the botched Afghanistan withdrawal.
Trump visited the cemetery in Virginia last Monday for a wreath-laying ceremony to honor those 13 service members killed in a terrorist attack outside Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 26, 2021.
After the event, NPR and the Associated Press reported that the photographer had filmed in a restricted area where “political activities” were prohibited.
The Army explained that everyone at the ceremony and the following visit was informed about federal laws, Army rules, and Department of Defense policies that forbid political activities at the cemetery. The Army stated that a cemetery employee who tried to enforce these rules was pushed aside.
The families of the service members who died said they had invited Trump to the public event and had also allowed a Trump campaign photographer to take pictures.
Hoover explained that they invited President Trump to show respect for the military members buried there. He added that they requested the video and pictures at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The U.S. Army said that a cemetery staff member was “abruptly pushed aside” during the event. Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said that the staff member who blocked the campaign photographers seemed to be having a “mental health episode.” He said the staff member tried to block Trump’s team during the ceremony physically.
The disagreement about Trump’s visit to Arlington Cemetery worsened over the weekend when Harris criticized the visit. She posted that Trump’s team filmed a video at the cemetery, which led to a conflict with the staff. She said that Trump disrespected the cemetery just for a political stunt.
After Harris’s post, there were many messages from the Trump campaign, Trump supporters, and Gold Star families criticizing her on X. The families of the service members who died in Afghanistan accused Harris of “playing politics” and blamed the Biden-Harris administration for the deaths of the 13 service members.
Senator JD Vance from Ohio, Trump’s running mate, is urging Harris to focus on investigating the deaths of 13 service members instead of spending time on social media. Vance mentioned that President Trump visited the families of these fallen service members at their request, criticizing Harris for not addressing the issue more seriously.
Harris has boasted that she was the last person with Biden before he decided to withdraw from Afghanistan. She also says she is “comfortable” with the decision which led to the deaths of servicemembers. She also appears to be ok with the $7 billion in military equipment left behind for the Taliban.
In defense, the Harris campaign pointed to Harris’ statement from last week. In the statement, Harris said she mourns and honors the service members daily. She sympathized with their families, calling the 13 service members heroes who put their country and fellow citizens before themselves. The statement also listed the names of the service members who died in 2021.
But It’s small comfort for the families of those left behind. “Your administration killed my son,” said Steve Nikoui, the father of Lance Corporal Kareem M. Nikoui. He criticized Harris for not being present at Dover for the respectful transfer of the soldiers and for never mentioning his son’s name.
Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s national press secretary, wrote on X that Kamala Harris’s mistakes led to a major disaster and the deaths of 13 brave soldiers. She criticized Harris for bragging about being with Biden when they made the poor decision to withdraw from Afghanistan. Leavitt also said that Harris has never mentioned the soldiers’ names or contacted their families.
Mark Schmitz, the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, said in a video that they didn’t want Trump there to boost his campaign. “We wanted a leader,” he said. “That explains why you and Joe didn’t get a call.”
Harris and Biden weren’t invited, and chances are they would have been far too “busy” to attend. This is one issue Harris needs to back away from as quickly as possible.
